Brett Favre: Why Minnesota Vikings' Season Was Over Even Without the Scandal
Thanks to Brett Favre's miraculous 180 degree turnaround last night, Vikings fans have some reason to hope.
Still, at 1-3, one of the NFC's preseason Super Bowl favorites is circling the drain.
They certainly are talented enough to go on a 10-1 or 9-2 run and return to the postseason picture.
But short of that happening, the Vikings will be home this January.
Favre's scandal was just one of many reasons why the Vikings have been such a disappointment this year.
No. 10: The Conference Is Very Deep
1 of 10
Several teams in the NFC improved have improved a great deal in just one year.
The Bears gained Julius Peppers and another year of development for Jay Cutler. The Packers injuries not-withstanding, they were a viable challenger for the Vikings in the division race.
The Redskins added Donovan McNabb and a great head coach, while the Eagles now have two capable starting quarterbacks. And the Falcons finished 2009 very strong after winning a division title a year earlier.
Out west, it would appear that only the 49ers have regressed. Heck, even the Lions are much improved.
Parity amongst the NFL teams is at an all time high so even if the exact same Vikings team returned in 2010 and they gave the exact same performances, it still might not have been enough to win 10 games.
Remember, two of the Vikings 12 wins last year came via a miracle touchdown catch by Greg Lewis and a Ravens kicker missing a 44-yard field goal at the end of Week Six.
No. 9: Brad Childress
2 of 10
If Brad Childress is such an offensive genius, how does the team with the NFC's best running back, a very good young receiver in Percy Harvin, and a more-than competent quarterback post the fourth-worst offensive scoring totals in the entire NFL.
The Vikings are averaging 16 points per game this year, down nearly 14 points from last year's total. Can Sidney Rice's presence really equal two touchdowns per game?
Furthermore, if you listened to ESPN's broadcast of the game with the Jets, you heard Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden pan the play-calling and play-design's early in the game. Part of that was because of the Jets scheme but not entirely.
No. 8: Red Zone Inefficiencies
3 of 10
When you've got Adrian Peterson, who in his first three seasons scored 40 rushing touchdowns, you've got to do better inside the opponent's 20-yard line than the Vikings have this season.
They've had eight trips inside the red zone and come away with a grand total of three touchdowns. The worst effort came against Miami where they were repeatedly turned away near the goal line.
No. 7: Brett Favre's Turnovers
4 of 10
Not including their quarterback, the VIkings have been fairly remarkable this season when it comes to turning the ball over.
Apart from Favre, the offense has lost only one fumble. (They lost Toby Gerhart's fumble against the Lions in Week Three.)
It's ironic that as soon as Adrian Peterson overcomes his fumbl-itis (after averaging four fumbles a season throughout his entire career, he has been error-free in 2010) Favre would pick up the slack.
Favre lost two fumbles in the game against the Jets and has thrown seven interceptions through four games. He threw seven all of last season.
No. 6: Trading For Randy Moss
5 of 10
Moss certainly made his mark in the second half of last night's game, catching that rainbow from Favre for the first score.
But if he wasn't happy with the Patriots is he really going to remain content in Minnesota?
In New England, he had a better head coach, a better quarterback, a better scheme and really just one offensive option besides him: Wes Welker.
With the Vikings he will split touches with Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe and that running back they have...Adrian something.
We might be headed for another halftime, locker room shouting match between Moss and a coach like there allegedly was during the Miami game a few weeks ago.
No. 5: Losing Chester Taylor
6 of 10
Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFC. And he has proved he can be a reliable, every down back who carries the ball 300 times a season. He's averaging 20-plus carries a game again in 2010.
But an offense still needs a third down back, a player who can catch the ball out of the backfield and make first downs in spot rushing duties.
Chester Taylor was a great fit there. Although his number of carries greatly declined when the Vikings drafted Peterson, his reception totals went up: he caught 89 passes from 2008-09.
Rookie Toby Gerhart might be a better replacement for Taylor in the running game, and a good backup to Peterson. But he has just one catch this season. Given Favre's lack of sharpness this year, he could have used a great check-down back like Taylor to keep drives alive.
No. 4: A Tired Defense
7 of 10
The Vikings defense has been great this season. They effectively shut out three very solid offensive teams (Saints, Dolphins and Lions), yielding less than 13 points per game in those contests.
And the final score against the Jets didn't reflect this, but they defense played it's best game on Monday night. Forcing field goals out of the powerful New York offense and surrendering just one touchdown, which was set up by a very long kick return.
The long-term impact of that pressure on the Minnesota defense remains to be seen. What will they have left come November and December?
Jared Allen has just one sack this season: at this point last year he had 6.5. The team's second best pass rusher in 2009, Ray Edwards, didn't record his first sack until Week Five.
And with Cedric Griffin already back on the shelf, trouble might be on the horizon.
No 3: The Schedule
8 of 10
The previous season's conference runner-up naturally draws a very difficult schedule. And the 2010 Vikings are no exception.
At this point in the year, it would seem that only two of their remaining 12 games (at Buffalo and at Detroit) will be against team's out of the playoff picture.
Apart from their divisional requirements (Chicago and Green Bay) they will host the Giants, Cowboys and Cardinals. Away from the Metrodome, the schedule is even more dismal. They travel to New England, Philadelphia, Green Bay, Chicago and Washington.
Even a 6-3 record in those brutal games would probably keep the Vikings out of the playoffs.
No. 2: Sidney Rice's Injury
9 of 10
It's not insane to think that the acquisition of a Hall of Famer like Randy Moss falls under the cliched heading of "too little too late."
Moss essentially fills the gap left open when Sidney Rice required surgery on his hip. He certainly could come back at some point this season. And if that is the case a Moss-Rice-Percy Harvin receiving corps would be fantastic.
But who knows what they'll get out of a recovering Rice and a Randy Moss whose catches are going to be reduced.
Rice blossomed into a top notch receiver last season, catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards. Even with Percy Harvin on the field, and the addition of Moss, his blazing speed has been greatly missed.
No. 1: Favre's Late Arrival
10 of 10
Unlike the previous two seasons, Favre's waffling on the retirement issue led to noticeable offensive struggles at the outset of his team's seasons.
Favre was excellent in the first month of the 2008 season with the Jets and even better in his first month with the Vikings in 2009. The third time back from retiring, Favre and the Vikings offense stumbled out of the gate. Minnesota started 0-2 and Favre threw just onde touchdown versus four interceptions.
With the preseason injuries to Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice, the Vikings could have used Favre in camp much earlier, working with his second-tier receivers.
Maybe more time together wouldn't have offset the 1-3 start. But it might have.
.jpg?w=480 "Rams Eagles Football")
.jpg?w=480 "STEELERS-RODGERS")
.jpg?w=600 "Jameis to Cover World Cup for Fox")
